WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 69: Blue (2)

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Large cages were slowly brought over. Three monsters had arrived, but there were only two cages. I could see the baby monsters curled up inside.

[Grade 3 Unicorn Species: White Shadow Unicorn (Juvenile)

Current Stats Grade: E

Potential Stats Grade at Maturity: A

Optimized Initial Skills

Shadow Running (A), acquired after maturing

Powerful Charge (A), acquired after maturing

Sprint Enhancement (B), acquired after maturing

※ Can only mature in a specific area]

The two monsters pressed close together in one cage were Shadow Unicorns, magical beasts famous for traveling in black-and-white pairs. The Black Shadow Unicorn's status window was identical to the white one's.

Can only mature in a specific area. Their requirements for reaching adulthood were pretty demanding too. It was almost certainly an area inside a dungeon, and both finding it and staying there long enough for them to mature would take enormous amounts of manpower and time.

Still, unlike Peace, it wasn't impossible. Maybe I should reveal their growth requirements later.

"So that's what they were, Shadow Unicorns! They're incredibly good chargers for high-grade beasts! Haeyeon Guildmaster, can't we somehow get just one?"

Moon Hyuna sounded regretful, saying they had perfect abilities for mounts despite being high-grade. She had a point. With their Sprint Enhancement buff, they might be better for charging headlong into battle than some top-grade monsters. Not every top-grade monster was fast, after all.

In the other cage, a monster the size of a small-to-medium dog was looking around with curious eyes.

[Grade 2 Gryphon Species: Golden Gryphon (Juvenile)

Current Stats Grade: C

Potential Stats Grade at Maturity: A to S

Optimized Initial Skills

Ruler of the Wind (S), acquired after maturing

Golden Arrow (A), acquired after maturing

Wind Resistance (A), acquired

Sharp Roar (B), acquired after maturing

※ Matures after consuming a sufficient amount of a certain monster]

That certain monster was probably some kind of magical horse. If I was right, its growth requirements were easy for a top-grade monster. Though that would depend on how much it needed to eat, and on the rank of the specific monster.

I should reveal this one's information someday too.

It was a Golden Gryphon species, but perhaps because it was still young, it had soft cream-colored fur. Its small eagle head sat atop a body more like a plump cat's than a lion's, with wings that seemed large for its body. Wind affinity. There was an S-Class Hunter who specialized in that, though they were foreign.

Moon Hyuna probably had wind-related abilities too, considering the nature of her skills.

"Gryphons are nice too, but I find charging more appealing than diving."

Even as she said that, Moon Hyuna's eyes gleamed greedily as she looked at the Golden Gryphon. Gryphons were strong monsters with outstanding abilities. In aerial combat, only dragons could rival them. Monster-bird species might be a little faster, but they couldn't withstand a proper collision with a gryphon.

"Here are the Owner's Tokens."

An A-Class Hunter from Haeyeon Guild, who must have struggled for a long time to acquire and protect the monsters, took three tokens from their inventory.

Yoohyun accepted them and immediately handed them to me.

"I'll be counting on you again."

"Leave it to me."

The black-and-white unicorns were herbivores and fairly gentle, so there was no great concern there. The gryphon was the problem. Still, Peace was here, so it should be fine. The moment I held the tokens, their heads all snapped toward me. The unicorns still looked a little frightened, but the gryphon's eyes shone brightly. They were a beautiful blue, like dark blue jewels.

"The unicorns are a male-female pair, and the gryphon's female."

Yoohyun said. Their sexes were clear, then. Peace's was still unknown. So was Peep's. Maybe I should take Peep to a chick sexer sometime. Or a bird expert.

Creeeak.

The gryphon's cage opened first. The young gryphon fearlessly hopped outside and gave herself a shake.

- Kyaaa!

Then she let out a delighted cry.

- Kyau, kya!

Apparently happy to be outside the cage, she bounced around before stretching her wings wide. Wings large for her body fluttered away. Then she cocked her head, looking between me and the unicorns with bright blue eyes. She seemed to be considering which side to bother first.

"Don't attack the unicorns."

There was no way she would understand, but I said it anyway. Gryphons in dungeons liked horses just as much as the ones from legends in our world did. As prey, that was. This one was likely the same, and with the gap in their ranks, the black-and-white unicorns and gryphon definitely couldn't be kept together.

The more baby monsters I had, the more troublesome things like this became.

- Kyaaa!

Flicking her fluffy-tipped lion tail, the young gryphon turned toward me. Her blue eyes still sparkled, and her slightly parted beak looked almost like a smile. She had been suddenly kidnapped and hauled a long way across the sea, yet her expression was bright and carefree without a hint of distress.

- Kya! Kyaaa!

With high-pitched cries like cheering children, the gryphon hopped around. I had barely wondered whether she couldn't fly yet when her milky wings, lighter in color than her body, spread wide.

Flap.

The gryphon lightly flew up until we were at eye level. Then, just as it had with Peace, a message window appeared.

[The title ‘Perfect Caregiver’ enhances the effect of the item ‘Owner’s Token’.

The tamed target feels affection toward the Caregiver.]

"You're really cute, little one."

She was cute to begin with, but that mischievous puppy-like expression was truly adorable. I put the Owner's Token in my inventory and held out both arms.

"Come here."

- Kyau?

The gryphon tilted her head, spun once in the air, and launched herself at me.

"Careful!"

"Urgh!"

Yoohyun swiftly caught the gryphon by the wing, while her hard beak grazed my chest forcefully. Wow, she was incredibly fast even as a baby. With C-Class stats, she could have broken a rib if my brother hadn't caught her.

"Here, drink this."

Moon Hyuna uncapped a potion and held it out.

"I don't need a mid-grade potion for this."

"I don't keep low-grade ones."

Ah, yes. I understood, but it still felt wasteful. I should be getting past my F-Class spending habits soon, but it wasn't easy. Still, it was free, so I drank it.

"You shouldn't handle the gryphon yourself just yet."

Yoohyun said with a slight frown.

"Unlike Peace, she seems unable to control her strength. You could get seriously hurt."

- Kyaaa!

The gryphon, held up by the wing in my brother's grip, flailed all four paws in the air. From that innocent appearance alone, she didn't seem to have any intention of hurting me.

"I don't think she can't control her strength. She flew perfectly well. She probably just doesn't realize how weak I am."

If she couldn't control her own body, she couldn't have flown as easily as she had a moment ago. She had done more than simply fly. Her turns and hovering had been flawless too.

"She must have dealt with nothing but her own kind and mid-grade Hunters or higher, so she may not have considered that I'm weaker than her."

She didn't mean any harm, and the taming was already complete, so teaching her should be enough. The only problem was that words wouldn't work.

If words wouldn't do it, I'd have to teach her physically.

"Do you have a high-grade potion too?"

I asked as I rolled up my right sleeve. A mid-grade potion should be enough, but just in case. Yoohyun responded first.

"Wait, Hyung. What exactly are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to teach the little gryphon how weak I am."

"And by teaching her, you mean..."

"Just hold on to her. If you interfere, it'll take longer."

Perhaps he had figured out what I intended to do, because Yoohyun's expression was particularly unpleasant.

"You don't have to go that far. We could have someone else do it."

"Why drag some poor, unrelated F-Class person into this? She's my responsibility, and she's my monster."

Besides, it would probably be hard to teach her when she had no affection for the person. Thanks to my title's effect, it would be over quickly for me.

"Hyung's right."

Moon Hyuna said, taking out a high-grade potion and shaking it. As expected of an S-Class, she was willing to pull out even a precious high-grade potion without hesitation. I had some Yoohyun gave me too, but they were too precious to use.

"You'll have to take care of all kinds of monsters from now on. Should you really start by handing things off to others and stepping back? And Haeyeon Guildmaster, I know you care about your brother, but he's a Hunter too. Hunters get attacked by monsters all the time. His position may be unusual, but he's just as deeply involved in the Hunter world. You can't fret over something like this. Before long, you'll want to wrap him up and hide him away completely."

That was actually what he had been trying to do. He was much better now, though.

Perhaps that hit a nerve, because Yoohyun stopped objecting and fell silent. His expression was still bad, so I should comfort him separately later. I didn't want him going off the rails again.

"Be good, little one."

I reached out toward the gryphon, who was staring at me with wide, clear eyes. Despite being held up by a wing, she immediately looked delighted and swished her tail. She really did seem to have a good temperament.

- Kya!

The young gryphon happily opened her beak wide. Then she stretched out her neck and,

Crunch!

"Argh!"

She suddenly bit down on my hand. I deliberately cried out loudly, wrenched my hand free, and stepped back. I turned away without even making eye contact with the gryphon.

- Kyau.

Yoohyun frowned deeply, and Moon Hyuna sprayed high-grade potion over the wound, where a large chunk of flesh had been torn away badly enough to expose bone. A mid-grade potion would have been enough for this. Still, its effects were excellent, and the wound healed cleanly in an instant. Expensive things really were good.

"Are you okay?"

Moon Hyuna asked as she replaced the cap. I nodded, then turned around again.

The gryphon's eyes were wide with what looked like confusion. Judging by her reaction, it seemed she would understand the situation soon.

"You can't bite. It hurts."

I soothed her and held out my hand again. The gryphon's beak reflexively opened, then closed again. Instead, her front paws gripped my hand tightly. Her exposed claws dug into my skin.

"It hurts!"

I cried out loudly again and swiftly turned away.

- Kyuu.

The sound was clearly more dejected than before. I stepped back, treated my hand, and gave her some time. After ignoring her for around ten minutes, I looked back at the gryphon. She had been drooping, but immediately lifted her head and flailed her front legs.

- Kyaaa!

Smiling, I slowly approached her again. When I held out my hand this time, she neither bit nor grabbed it with her paws. I praised her for being good and gently stroked her head and beneath her beak.

- Kyakya!

"That's right. Good girl."

I rubbed the tip of her beak, then slowly slipped a finger into the opening as it parted. She carefully bit my finger, then used a little too much force.

"Urgh!"

When I showed that I was hurt, the gryphon quickly opened her beak again.

- Kyaau.

"Good job. Don't bite that hard. It hurts."

When I touched her beak again, she lightly caught my finger with just the right amount of pressure.

"Let her go now."

Yoohyun released the gryphon's wing. The young gryphon flew up with a flutter, then instead of charging at me as before, hesitated before quietly placing one front paw against my chest. She really was smart.

I held the gryphon in my arms.

- Kyaaa! Kya!

"Don't struggle. Put your claws away too. There. Yoohyun, she doesn't have a name, right?"

He had kept Peace for a month without giving Peace a name. There was no way he had already named the new monsters.

What should I call her? When I looked down, she stared straight back at me, chirping happily with beautiful blue eyes.

"Blue."

- Kyau!

How cute. So fluffy and warm. I could call the unicorns Black and White. Short, simple, and easy to understand. It would be easier to call them in battle that way too.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, Blue."

- Kyaaa!

I pressed my cheek against the yellow beak rubbing against me when,

Click!

I heard a phone camera. It was Moon Hyuna. She was smiling with her phone aimed at me.

"Don't take pictures without permission."

"Come on, don't be so stingy. I just want us to be pals. Want to take one together?"

"No, thank you. Delete the picture."

"Why are you only like this with me? What about your brother?"

Why Yoohyun? I looked around, but there wasn't even a hint of a phone in sight. Why drag my innocent little brother into this?

"Give me your phone."

"Want to trade it for a photo of me?"

I didn't need one. After making her delete the picture, I approached the unicorns' cage. The two foals looked up at me with identical head tilts, like twins. They were adorable too. Though there were few baby animals that weren't cute.

- Kyau! Kya!

Then Blue abruptly flew out of my arms. Her wings spread wide as her body shot into the air, then,

Bang!

She slammed hard into the unicorns' cage.

- Neigh!

- Snort!

The cage shook with a loud noise, and the unicorns fled into the corner in fright.

"Blue! No!"

- Kyakya!

Blue clung to the unicorns' cage, scraping at its bars with her front paws. When she couldn't break it with her own strength, she even looked back at me as if asking for help. The unicorns must have looked like a delicious lunch to her.

"They aren't your prey, you little brat."

When I forcibly pulled her away from the cage, she looked displeased but obediently let me hold her. I would have to be careful with all three of them.

* * *

For safety, the unicorns were moved elsewhere. Even after that mess, Blue's gaze as she watched the foals was far from ordinary. It would be best to manage the unicorns and gryphon separately from now on too. Even as a baby, suppressing an instinct that went wild for horseflesh wouldn't be easy.

"Are you really sure it's okay to take her home?"

Yoohyun asked, looking at Blue clinging tightly in my arms. When I had tried to leave her in the cage earlier, she had screamed her head off.

"I can't keep her apart forever anyway. I may as well let her get used to Peace while I'm at it."

I hoped the two would get along without problems. Like a big brother and little sister. Or a big sister and little sister?

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